Plasma-based ambient mass spectrometry is emerging as a frontier technology for direct analysis of sample that employs low-energy plasma as the ionization reagent. The versatile sources of ambient mass spectrometry (MS) can be classified according to the plasma formation approaches; namely, corona discharge, glow discharge, dielectric barrier discharge, and microwave-induced discharge. These techniques allow pretreatment-free detection of samples, ranging from biological materials (e.g., flies, bacteria, plants, tissues, peptides, metabolites, and lipids) to pharmaceuticals, food-stuffs, polymers, chemical warfare reagents, and daily-use chemicals. In most cases, plasma-based ambient MS performs well as a qualitative tool and as an analyzer for semi-quantitation. Herein, we provide an overview of the key concepts, mechanisms, and applications of plasma-based ambient MS techniques, and discuss the challenges and outlook.

A novel ambient ionization technique for mass spectrometry, microfabricated glow discharge plasma (MFGDP), is reported. This device is made of a millimeter-sized ceramic cavity with two platinum electrodes positioned face-to-face. He or Ar plasma can be generated by a direct current voltage of several hundreds of volts requiring a total power below 4 W. The thermal plume temperature of the He plasma was measured and found to be between 25 and 80 °C at a normal discharge current. Gaseous, liquid, creamy, and solid samples with molecular weights up to 1.5 kDa could be examined in both positive and negative mode, giving limits of detection (LOD) at or below the fg/mm(2) level. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of manual sampling ranged from 10% to ~20%, while correlation coefficients of the working curve (R(2)) are all above 0.98 with the addition of internal standards. The ionization mechanisms are examed via both optical and mass spectrometry. Due to the low temperature characteristics of the microplasma, nonthermal momentum desorption is considered to dominate the desorption process.

Lasers have long been used in the field of mass spectrometric analysis for characterization of condensed matter. However, emission of neutrals upon laser irradiation surpasses the number of ions. Typically, only one in about one million analytes ejected by laser desorption/ablation is ionized, which has fueled the quest for postionization methods enabling ionization of desorbed neutrals to enhance mass spectrometric detection schemes. The development of postionization techniques can be an endeavor that integrates multiple disciplines involving photon energy transfer, electrochemistry, gas discharge, etc. The combination of lasers of different parameters and diverse ion sources has made laser desorption/ablation postionization (LD/API) a growing and lively research community, including two‐step laser mass spectrometry, laser ablation atmospheric pressure photoionization mass spectrometry, and those coupled to ambient mass spectrometry. These hyphenated techniques have shown potentials in bioanalytical applications, with major inroads to be made in simultaneous location and quantification of pharmaceuticals, toxins, and metabolites in complex biomatrixes. This review is intended to provide a timely comprehensive view of the broadening bioanalytical applications of disparate LD/API techniques. We also have attempted to discuss these applications according to the classifications based on the postionization methods and to encapsulate the latest achievements in the field of LD/API by highlighting some of the very best reports in the 21st century. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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A low-power, portable dc microplasma source has been developed for use in molecular emission spectrometry. The device employs a 450 nL plasma chamber in which an atmospheric pressure dc glow discharge is generated with argon gas. The discharge ignites spontaneously when the system is operated at dc input power of 0.95-6.5 W and gas flows of 100-2500 mL min À1 . Two sample introduction modes are used to enable direct analysis of gaseous and liquid samples. The detection of volatile organic compounds was achievable via the emissions from CN at 387.15 nm, CH at 431.41 nm and C 2 at 516.53 nm. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) down to ppb (v/v) level can be achieved. These detection limits are competitive to or better than those of other microfabricated plasma devices. More importantly, the effect of organic compound structure on emission response is systematically studied. It was found for the first time that the ratio of C 2 /CH emission is closely associated with the ratio of hydrogen to carbon atoms (H/C) in a molecule, which might be potentially used for direct semi-qualitative analysis of organics. The dc microplasma detector possesses the advantages of simple construction, high sensitivity, low power consumption, long lifetime, and potential for portability in mass reduction and instrumentation.